Directed by Ang Lee (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi), this was a Chinese and English language film I found listed in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I hoped the positive ratings from critics and this placement would be deserved when I watched it. Basically Taiwanese-American Wai-Tung Gao (Winston Chao) and Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein) are a gay couple who have been living happily in Manhattan for ten years, his traditional parents do not know and are eager to see him get married and have a child to continue the family line. Wai-Tung's parents have hired a dating agency to find a woman suitable to marry him, to give them time he and Simon make impossible demands for the "perfect" woman, including that she is an opera singer, 5'9" tall, have two PhD's and speak five languages. The agency actually find a very close match, a Chinese woman 5'8" tall, sings Western opera, speaks five languages and has a single PhD, Wai-Tung and Simon explain their dilemma to the woman, she is gracious, and admits she is hiding a relationship (with a Caucasian man). At Simon's insistence, Wai-Tung decides to get married to penniless artist Wei- Wei (May Chin) from mainland China, one of his tenants who needs a green card, they will be helping her and satisfying Wai-Tung's parents. Mr. Gao (Sihung Lung) and Mrs. Gao (Ah-Leh Gua / Ya-Lei Kuei) want to hold an extravagant wedding for their son, so they decide to fly from Taiwan to Manhattan, bringing 30,000 U.S. dollars, Wai-Tung will not dare tell his parents the truth, especially as his father, a retired officer from the Chinese Nationalist Army, has recently recovered from a stroke, so the wedding will go ahead. However Wai-Tung's mother is heartbroken when the couple decide to have a simple and disgraceful courthouse wedding, to make up for this they prepare a magnificent wedding banquet, with many guests attending and the married couple dressed in proper suit and dress. During the evening Wai-Tung gets very drunk, Wei-Wei takes advantage of the situation, she rapes a barely conscious Wai-Tung, and becomes pregnant with his child. Mr. Gao suffers another stroke and is put in hospital, Wai-Tung has an argument with both Wei-Wei and Simon, and in the heat of the moment admits the truth to his mother, she is shocked, but she tells him not to tell his father, however when Mr. Gao recovers he reveals more than he had been letting on, he secretly tells Simon he knew about his relationship with his son. An appointment is made for Wei- Wei to have an abortion, but she decides to keep the baby, and asks Simon to stay as another father to the child, the parents prepare to leave, Mr. Gao has formed a good bond with his new daughter-in-law and accepts Simon being with Wai-Tung, they situation ends fairly happily and the unconventional three-person family are left to sort themselves out. Also starring Neal Huff as Steve, Jeffrey Howard as Street Musician, Anthony "Iggy" Ingoglia as Restaurant Manager, Dion Birney as Andrew and Ang Lee as Banquet Guest. The performances are all well done, the direction is sharp, and it is a simple idea done brilliantly well, a gay man hiding his sexuality and getting married for convenience, I found it dramatic in some places as well as very funny, it makes you laugh with the mix of eastern and western culture clashes, and the hilarity from the plan that backfires, it is a clever and most satisfying comedy. It was nominated the Oscar and the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Very good!

I think it's fascinating that the earnings ratio for this flick was so high; this perhaps makes it one of the very best to point to when debunking the "big budget = better" assumptions among many film buffs.Loved it. It hits on almost all the key indicators: Visually beautiful, storyline solid as a rock, fine character development, generally fine acting, great music, well paced and edited, and timely themes with an overarching message which is both age-old and timeless: When worlds collide, you might discover that the experience can be one of delight rather than dread. Love, open-mindedness, and open-heartedness are operative factors capable of cracking time-honored, trans-generational assumptions.As if all this weren't enough, there's even a tender little bone thrown to the romantically inclined among us who feel that abortion is not a life-affirming option. If you're a pro-lifer--a *real* pro-lifer, not one who feels that life is sacred only until birth--watch this movie and have a hankie at hand.I guess I should flesh in my summary line allegation of early sluggishness. Not quite sure what it was. Maybe I actually had to sort of recover my sensibilities and let this movie unwind at its own pace. It might have had something to do with the male lead not being a trained actor, learning his chops as the filming proceeded. Not quite sure. You may find the first third (or so) of the film to be a bit slow. But hang with it: It's well, *well* worth the time and suspension of disbelief invested!One last observation: I live in Taiwan, so I found the capturing and capsuling of Chinese culture to be well done and nicely modulated (not over the top) for western audiences. I hope westerners out there can savor that.

You could describe this movie as a romantic comedy. And I do agree with one of the previous reviewers, the romantic part isn't sappy and the comedic part isn't slapstick either. It has the right balance to it! And as an absurd plot progresses (you have to watch this), and by absurd I mean more like abstruse or something like that, the (main) characters remain down to earth. The actors are well casted and carry the plot, while playing it "straight" (not everyone is playing "straight", as you will see if you watch the picture, but that's something you'll realise the first minutes into the film).I haven't watched the film for quite some time now, but if you like a real (offbeat) comedy, than this is for you! :o) It's a great movie and a testament how great a director Ang Lee is!

A successful young professional Asian man in a long term relationship with his American male partner is worried about the imminent visit of his parents, who he fears will not accept his homosexuality. To hide the truth, the illegal Chinese housekeeper is presented as the fiancé. Believing the charade would only be played for the duration of the parents' visit, all agreed on the plan. Little did anyone know that the old Chinese Tradition required a boastful wedding banquet, all paid and insisted upon by an old family friend. Unexpected complications seem to end in disaster, yet there is nothing that can ever stop true love. A bitter-sweet ending is testimony to our changing world and the growing acceptance of all people, regardless of ethnicity or sexual orientation.This film not only deals with its gay theme in a matter-of-fact way, but there also never is any mention of the fact that the main characters are interracial. This should never matter, however it seems that our society adds another stigma when someone enters an interracial relationship. Unusual and even shocking to contemporary society, The Wedding Banquet will appear free of any issues in another 10 or 20 years. For a European audience the "big whoop" may already be illusive.Believing that exotic cultures are least likely to part with traditional social norms can be quite wrong. Family bonds and strong character are valued above all, with sexual orientation not even being considered at all. The elderly are given too little credit for their capacity to understand life and social issues. This film gives strength to the argument that all people are quite willing and able to live peacefully without passing judgment on others.